Ever since Star Wars in 1977, Summers have become the season of blockbuster movies. But within the last few years, studios have tweaked the formula when it comes to choosing and marketing their projects slated for the Summertime. As I've said before, studios like what they know because they believe people like what they know. So the last few Summers have become the 3 or 4 months in which studios roll out their sequels or prequels or mid-quels to famous moneymakers. Even now, the studios have run out of "quels" to make, so they rely on the reboots or the remakes of older (and definitely marketable) moneymakers. We are in the Age of the Franchise Films and Summer 2012 has become no exception. Between the beginning of May and the end of August 2012, studios have or will have released a total of 10 sequels/prequels, 2 remakes, 1 reboot and 1 film that is part of a major franchise but cannot officially be called a sequel (though it has made more than enough money worldwide to warrant at least a couple of sequels!). The quality of each of these films and whether they will one day be compared with the likes of Citizen Kane or Gone With the Wind remains to be seen. However, the sheer amount of these types of films does signal to me (and other critics) that studios are more concerned with quantity rather than quality (what else is new?). With Marvel's The Avengers slowly climbing to the top of the All-Time Box-Office champs list, it can be fairly predicted that the other major blockbusters will be prime box-office hits over the next few months. That being said, it doesn't feel like studios will be feigning away from the idea of producing more Franchise Films. So take a look below at the trailers for some of these films that have yet to grace our Summertime. Ask yourself as you watch these a few questions: Is quality being overhauled for the sake of the almighty dollar potential? Do these Franchise Films warrant so much attention? And, most importantly, which ones fascinate you most to the point that you will be in the movie lines with the rest of America when it comes out?
Men In Black 3 (May 25)
Prometheus (June 8)
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (June 8)
The Amazing Spider-Man (July 3)
The Dark Knight Rises (July 20)
The Bourne Legacy (August 3)
Sparkle (August 10)
The Expendables 2 (August 17)
Hey Jeremy! Glad to see you are still such an active blogger. I am kinda getting back into it. You always have interesting things to say. As for your latest post... I cannot say whether quality is taking a back seat to the almighty dollar, but I sure do hope that the film industry stays diverse. And non-action films stay strong and continue to grow and evolve. I am not much of an action film gal, though I can see the appeal. I just like have choices.
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